What you recognize I don't own. As always thoughts are in italics while foreign languages, sign language and alien language is in asterisks, this is also AU. Most people have high-grade as simply the Cybertronian version of alcohol, however for me it's dual purpose, yes it is basically alcohol if the Cybertronian is medium to normal charge, however it is also an emergency fuel source that gets them just enough time to make it to safety where they are then taken to medical and given constant Energon, or medical grade if it's determined to be needed. Okay two things, first is that Prowl, Bluestreak and Smokescreen are typically presented as family in fics, that is not the case until after an event mentioned in the story, the second thing is that Bumblebee and Bluestreak are presented as the youngest members of the team, while that part is the same, they are not younglings or sparklings like typically presented, instead they are already adults when the war starts, albeit young adults that are the equivalent of being in their early twenties, the rest are the equivalent of mid twenties to early thirties except for Ratchet and Ironhide, they're mid forties and early fifties respectively, having served in the army before and retired to civilian life before the war started up. ::is comm speak / is bond speak. I like time skips for some reason, if there's going to be a lot going on within a brief period, or if it's a long period of time skips I will do explaining within the time skips, otherwise it will be a brief mention of general information about that time skip period. During at least one phone call I will write both sides of the conversation denoting which side it is, normally I don't but for at least the conversation that has both sides fully written it's needed. I will temporarily focus on two different characters and their conditions and aftermath for a bit, but after that they or at least the result of the condition will only be mentioned briefly in passing more than likely for one of them, the other result is mentioned a little more frequently due to what happens to them in regards to their condition

Galvatron, Rodimus, Punch and Jazz were all at the front of the base talking about a mission and patrol when suddenly an EDC car pulled up and Captain Faireborn stepped out, however she did not immediately go over to them but instead went to the back of her car and brought out a baby and then came up to them like she normally did

"Hello Captain Faireborn, what's with the baby?"

"A right complicated mess I'm afraid"

"Oh I can't wait to hear this one"

"Jazz you need to be involved to confirm what my sources have already told me. Now then this child is Korra Kerenai, her parents were both EDC officers until...until a month ago shortly after she was born. They were killed in a drive by shooting at a police station visiting the father's uncle who works in a police station, or did seeing as how he was also killed. She immediately went into foster care and foster care placed her in my care so as to keep her within her parents line of work at least temporarily, what I need you for Jazz is to confirm she has no living relatives left to care for her, your people can get those answers faster than the courts can"

"How did this little one survive the incident?"

"Fortunately for her she was inside the police station being looked after by a female police officer who was a close friend to the uncle and as such was well trusted with the newborn"

"I'll get on it right away Marissa, and also have Prowl using his resources as well, what will happen to her once it's confirmed that she's an orphan?"

"She'll remain in foster care until she's adopted or her parents Last Will is read and confirmed"

"Why hasn't that been done during this month period?"

(Sighs) "I'm afraid her parents have made that complicated in that their lawyer stated their instructions were to not have their Last Will read until it has been confirmed by both the courts and the EDC that she has no living relatives left, something about a special reason and request involved"

A month later the EDC and courts had finally confirmed that Korra had no living relatives left, not even distant relatives and her parents Last Will was read and it was indeed a special request that shocked everyone, her parents had asked that someone within the EDC adopted her including it's founding members, though if said founding members adopted her the request was made that help was given to said founding members, and all EDC officers knew that meant that the Kerenai's had been talking about the Cybertronians. After the will reading the three Cybertronian leaders talked, both with each other and with the government to figure out just how it would work and if it was even legal for them to do so regardless of her parents will. Finally it was decided that the Cybertronians would be the ones to adopt her with Captain Faireborn having authority to sign paperwork on their behalf if it was needed, as she got old enough to travel they would extend that authority to all base commanders around the world but for the moment, at her young age it was just Faireborn that had that authority. They also would make sure that they had plenty of help in her early years, tentatively until she was five but could be extended at a moments notice at need

"She's going to have one interesting family as she grows up"

"Indeed she is, by the way I was wondering just how was the paperwork managed so that the entire Cybertronian army signed the adoption making them all her legal guardians?"

"It was...complicated, but done legally and admittedly with a lot of paper copies of our signatures, in English and Cybertronian glyphs"

"Oh she's going to have an interesting education in regards to reading and writing in one of her two native languages isn't she?"

"Yep, don't forget she's also most likely going to learn how to speak Cybertronian as well"

"We're in for an interesting five or so years aren't we?"

"Yes, yes we are, all of us, humans and Cybertronians alike"

"Oh by the way I'm making this my headquarters until further notice due to all the legal stuff that's just happened with her"

"Understood, do you have any plans for if something happens on base?"

"Yup, I go into hiding with her, this basically means I am considered either inactive or reserve for the next five to seven years but this little one will be worth it"

"Oh fair warning, Prowl and Red Alert have teamed up for Korra's safety"

"Oh boy, this will be interesting and they'll be modifying their plans accordingly once they learn about me won't they?"

"Exactly"

"How did the rest of the army take it anyways when they heard about the adoption?"

"They were...annoyed initially about several things in regards to the adoption, including the incident you were involved in, but ultimately knew it was for the best that we adopted Korra ourselves"

"Oh?"

"Yeah...we actually looked into Korra's parents after the will was read and realized that we were the best canidates due to them actually being one of Jazz' human operatives"

"Wait what?"

"Yeah...let me explain what happened"

Flashback

"Sir, is it really a good idea for us to adopt a human child?"

"That's why we're talking and actually looking into her parents background Prowl"

"Okay, but why weren't we informed about this possibility sooner?"

"Her parent's lawyer made him keep silence on their Last Will until certain requirements were met"

"I want to talk to this lawyer"

"No Barricade, you will not do anything for him following his instructions given to him by his customers regarding legal matters, he is obligated to follow their instructions, including any final instructions regarding their death and the reading of their Last Will"

"Fine"

The rest of the army was also annoyed at a lot of things regarding what was happening to Korra, including finding out that she was orphaned at only two weeks old, that had taken the expertise of all three leaders, Prowl, Barricade, Jazz, Red Alert, Starscream and Faireborn when she heard disturbing talks about the criminals in her hearing to get them to not act on it. During that time they looked into the Kerenai's background to see just how dangerous it would be for a normal EDC officer to adopt Korra and that's when it was discovered that they had been two of Jazz' few human operatives

"Jazz, why didn't you recognize the name earlier?"

"Simple, I made sure that all my human operatives gave me their reports under code names, not to mention I never meet with them in person, all information is given to each side second hand"

"How do you know if you've lost an operative then?"

"That's complicated and also confirmed through means that are to remain a secret to everyone but me, however since they are now dead I can tell you that they were two of my best operatives, though about a year ago they suddenly asked for temporary reassignment now that I think about it, that must have been when they discovered that they were expecting Korra"

"Did you grant them the reassignment?"

"Not immediately, but only because I needed them for a mission that only they could have accomplished, though I also told them that they could pull resources from any section of the EDC no questions asked with my written orders as Meister. Once I had confirmation that the mission was completed I assigned them to a different section of my unit with instructions to let me know when they could actively participate in missions again"

"Where did you reassign them?"

"Mostly desk work by having them analyze any reports coming in from the field, but I also made sure that to keep their skills sharp that they were class teachers, teaching the ropes to a new group of agents in the classroom, with other agents taking over for field training"

"Okay, so what does this mean for Korra and the ones who adopt her?"

"That's the thing, I don't think anyone but us should adopt her, not even Captain Faireborn"

"What makes you say that Jazz?"

(Sighs) "I know the ins and outs of spec ops, I know better than anyone that what you do in the field can garner enemies, as such I keep a very close eye on my human operatives, and if needed pair them with one of my fellow Cybertronians who are also operatives, the human operatives are unaware of their Cybertronian counterparts except at need, however Korra's parents...only one team of human operatives beat them and that's only because that team found out about a mission that I had approved for Cybertronian operatives, managed to complete said mission on their own, decided to help with secondary objectives of their own including destroying the location they were at, gather intelligence I wasn't even aware was needed until I gave it to Prowl, all without serious injury and before I even gave it to my planned Cybertronian operatives, because I got to tell you I was going to tell those Cybertronian operatives about the mission the day after I received their reports, and another thing all of this happened within three days of me even deciding that the mission was needed. Once that happened I made sure that those human operatives had Cybertronian counterparts with them at all times, Korra's parents were supposed to be getting that level of protection as well but they discovered my plans and insisted that they were fine to not have protection. As I knew any operative would be discovered I used my own brand of subterfuge and kept a closer eye on any of their enemies, and some of those enemies are too dangerous for normal EDC officers to handle, even with Cybertronian operatives by their side, as such it's simply safer for us to have Korra from the beginning"

"Understood Jazz your opinion is noted, Prowl what do you think?"

"I have to agree with Jazz on this, if the enemies are that dangerous there's no telling what they'll do to get to Korra, the last living link to their enemies, because as far as I understand some of them have no morals and will go after an innocent child for the sins of the parents"

The three leaders discuss this on their own and come to a decision

"Very well, we'll take the matter up with the rest of the army but we will most likely be the ones to adopt Korra as long as the courts agree"

The rest of the army was behind the adoption of Korra though, they didn't have the full story but the Cybertronian spec ops agents had spread word that Korra's parents had been important to them for reasons that they wouldn't get into and also let slip some of the unclassified missions they had helped with which set public opinion against anyone else adopting Korra. There were minor issues that had to be resolved around their adoption, not least of which was the fact that it was complicated to have everyone sign the legal document due to their size, plus they had to figure out how to sign it to make it all legal and it was decided that they would use the English versions of their Cybertronian names signing with both English and Cybertronian glyphs, that took some doing with paper. Once everything was resolved though Korra was officially the adopted daughter of the Cybertronians

"Now what?"

"Now we take care of our daughter, while also asking for human help for the first few years of her young life"

"Plus, I have something to do in regards to Korra's parents, something only I can handle"

"Jazz..."

Rodimus' warning tone stopped Jazz cold knowing that the only reason Optimus, Galvatron, and Prowl had stayed silent was because he was the designated speaker that day

"Don't worry, it's nothing bad, just something important to me that I feel can finally be done now that everything is resolved, and it shouldn't take more than two hours, if it does call me and I'll immediately return to base"

Jazz leaves and heads to where Korra's parents were buried, the final thing that Jazz always did for any of his fallen agents was a private ceremony unique to each officer for the most part, the only time it wasn't was if he lost multiple agents at once or during the civil war caused by the Quintessons, but all fallen human agents got a unique ceremony. The only thing that remained the same was that Energon was spilt over the graves at every ceremony, and that was the start of the ceremony as well, Jazz pulled out a knife and cut his hand and then made sure his Energon fell onto the graves of Korra's parents

"With this Energon I vow to protect your daughter alongside my fellow Cybertronians, I will tell her stories about you when she is old enough to understand, I will keep your enemies from finding out about her, or from killing her if she is discovered. Should I fall I will designate another to take my place as her teacher in your ways, both human and spying, she will learn everything she can to keep herself alive should she follow in your footsteps. I also vow to keep up the fight and never rest until it is over for good, the only reason I shall fail is if I am terminated myself, no injury will keep me from completing my mission to you guys. I Jazz, Head of Special Operations and Third-in-Command so vow and though there are no witnesses to this vow I will make it known in our ways as spec ops agents, know that your daughter will always be safe with another Cybertronian spec ops agent, and should that agent fail to protect her know that I will dish out punishment myself. I just wish I could have done more to protect you, even with you denying my protection in the first place"

Jazz then lights their version of incense and simply stands there honoring them as the spec ops agents they were, leaving with just enough time to spare on his time limit that he had given. When he got back Ratchet noticed the cut on Jazz's hand and confronted him with others nearby

"What did you do to yourself Jazz?"

"That's private Ratchet"

"Not when you hurt yourself, that cut is deep and could have injured delicate sensors causing permanent damage to your hand"

"It's private Ratchet, and it's not as bad as you think it is, I am not explaining anything to you, or anyone else"

"Says who?"

"Easy Galvatron, says me, I am claiming silence under the spec ops code of conduct regarding the privacy of my agents or myself with personal matters, it won't spill into our jobs or affect the rest of the crew, if it did I would tell you, but it won't, as such I am keeping my silence...period, is that understood?"

"Yes Jazz, it's understood, however if that cut gets infected you are telling the Primes and I what happened am I clear?"

"Yes Galvatron I understand"

What Jazz didn't know was that there was a spec ops agent who knew exactly what Jazz had done because they had been watching him from the very start of the war and their career as one of Jazz's agents. Mirage was the sole secret witness to every ceremony that Jazz had performed for his spec ops agents, he had only ever missed one ceremony back on Cybertron, that ceremony had been his own and that was because he had been in stasis, in a Decepticon brig, halfway across Cybertron after a mission had gone seriously wrong, and he had been captured and presumed dead. His being discovered captive had been completely by accident when another agent had infiltrated the place he was being held in three months after he was declared dead. The agent was unable to get Mirage out themselves, however there was a nearby Autobot patrol that they managed to get to being led by Ironhide, and while he didn't mention Mirage by name at the time due to not quite believing that it wasn't an impostor (that had been done before to almost devastating effect with another deceased agent) he did mention that he believed that there was an Autobot captive. They rescued Mirage, who was no longer constantly in stasis, and got him back to headquarters where it was confirmed to really be Mirage. After he recovered he went to where he had supposedly fallen calling Jazz to that location, and while he never told Jazz that he knew about Jazz's ceremony he did make sure that the job was truly properly completed by another agent, Jazz was there as back up and because quite frankly Mirage knew that Jazz would go crazy if Mirage had gone out on his own so soon after being returned to them from certain death. Mirage kept silent vigil over Jazz whenever he did his ceremony, even once on Earth with the civil war over he continued to watch over Jazz, and when Jazz gained human agents Mirage changed his pattern, he continued to watch over Jazz whenever he performed his ceremony, but later, much, much later he would sneak out and do his own little ceremony confirming Jazz's vow and making vows of his own to watch over Jazz and to let him know if the time ever came what Mirage had been doing, his ceremony was much quicker though, just a few simple words and then he was gone, leaving only flowers behind as was human custom. After he finished his own ceremony for Korra's parents he did what he always did after one of Jazz's ceremonies and made sure that Jazz neither worked himself into stasis or had complications from the cut on his hand knowing that it was possible even with how careful Jazz was about cuts of any sort, including self inflicted cuts, he only had to learn that lesson the hard way once when he and Jazz had both been injured in a fire fight and a cut that Jazz acquired had gotten infected despite Jazz doing daily wound cleaning. Jazz had gone down and gone down hard, being put into Medical stasis to save his life, after that day Mirage made sure to catch even the most subtle of signs that cuts or wounds were getting infected and got whoever had said infection, including Jazz a couple of times to Ratchet or First Aid before the situation became critical

"Well for now, seeing as how Korra is our legal daughter we need to adapt our security system to her needs, now and for the future, Red Alert care to join me?"

"With pleasure Prowl"

The rest of the group leave the two to go at it for Korra's safety knowing that they were the best to do so, though at one point they did ask Starscream, Blaster, Soundwave and Wheeljack for help knowing that they were needed, the two communication members because of their cassettes which allowed them the ability to get into places a small human would be able to, which in Korra's case was dangerous and as for Starscream and Wheeljack they were scientists and that was their final word whenever the two security members were questioned about it

Present